Checking Out The New & Improved Thorntons Shop At Intu Derby

On a frosty Wednesday morning, I took a few hours out of work to attend a press sneak peek at the revamped Thorntons store located in Intu Derby.

Being a regular at the shop, I was more than excited to see what they’d done with the place and I was pretty astonished.

The old store had a deep purple theme with a shop front and a cafe towards the back of the space. Needless to say, the place was always busy and the tables were always chocca (pun intended) with families looking for a bite to eat.

But upon entering behind the secret, boarded doors, it had been totally transformed; like a real Cinderella moment. Not that the place looked particularly tired or worn before, but the revamp has made it feel so chic and elegant!

The cream and copper theme added a real boutique feel and not like you were in Derby at all but somewhere in London or Paris. You can really tell they’ve put a lot of love and care into the details like the light fittings and the shelving dividers. The ivory walls and seating make the place feel a lot bigger than it previously was and it’s been really opened up. All the cosy vibes in here!

There are several different elements to the shop with different stations offering different things. The first one I visited was the Dessert Station where I was paired to a pudding based on my likes and I got the Salted Caramel Praline Torte which was, conveniently, my favourite of the bunch.

We were also given the option to try one of their Continental Hot Chocolates made with milk and dark chocolate shards and cocoa powder. These were to DIE for and made me very happy lady.

The dessert selection included a Coffee Mousse, a Seville Caramel Cheesecake, a Lemon Tart, the Salted Caramel Praline Torte and an Alpini Cake. My favourite was definitely the torte but the Alpini came in a close second tasting like an indulgent Ferrero Rocher cake.

After we’d finished up at the dessert counter, we popped over to have a nosey at the shake counter and oh my, we were not disappointed.

Watching the shakes and sundaes being made was a treat on it’s own, never mind delving into one!

I had to try the Sicilian Mousse Shake which was lemon and vanilla based with lemon curd, whipped cream and drizzled with lemony goodness.

Photo courtesy of Cirkle PR

Pictured above were us blogger gals with our spectacles that looked almost too good to eat or drink! Mine was subtle, sweet and not sickly at all! There was even a cheeky chocolate added for good measure. All the shakes and sundaes are themed around chocolates from their Continental collection for a luxurious, upmarket feel.

I then popped over to the Personalisation Station to get a hand-piped slab with any inscription I liked! I chose a motto we use in our home a lot and I was feeling a tad romantic…

They also had a mini flatlay set up which we, of course, took full advantage of and took some pretty photos of our goodies.

I really love all things Thorntons, not just because everything they offer is delicious, but you can feel that they put a lot of heart and effort into making their products the very best they can be.

As their saying ‘Pass The Love On’ goes, it really means that the love and care they put into their craft gets passed to the customer and then again if it’s being gifted.

I had such a fun few hours tasting, trying and nosying around their new store and seeing what new activities they have to offer.

I’ll be back VERY soon to stock up on Christmas gifts, advent calendars and having a bite to eat in their new table service restaurant.

3 thoughts on “Checking Out The New & Improved Thorntons Shop At Intu Derby”

This sounds amazing Jay! Love the look and sound of that Sicillian Mousse Shake, I wonder if it’s gluten free… or whether anything is gluten free!?! Definitely going to have to try my luck next time I’m in Derby as I haven’t been to the Thorntons shop in over a year!

Hi Jay
Thank you for your positive comments on the transformation of the Thorntons café in Derby.
We have been working closely with Thorntons to define and develop their brand and future retail proposition. A key element of this was to create a truly experiential, engaging and customer focussed environment. It is great to hear that our design for the new Thorntons café concept had delivered this.
Angus